This year's lineup bullied New York pitching Tuesday night, batting around and scoring five runs in the third inning on its way to an 8-6 win over the seriously slumping Yankees.

The win, the A's third in a row, put them at 20-18, 3-2 on the road trip, and 4-1 against the Yanks this year.

Berroa's grand slam in the third got the spotlight Tuesday night. It was his first career slam and the A's fourth this season - two more than they had last year and as many as they had in '92 and '93.

But the difference in the game was constant banging away by the A's lineup, top to bottom. They chased Yankees starter Mariano Rivera after four innings, getting seven runs on seven hits, including Sierra's first-pitch, two-run homer to right.

"There are no gaps, no easy outs," said Lansford, an All-Star in '88 and currently a coach, who likes what he sees in the '95 lineup. "The pitcher sees five, six tough outs to start off the game, it's got to affect him."

Lansford remembered some happy batting streaks in '88, and this year's lineup is trying to repeat them. The A's have scored 33 runs on 36 hits in the past three games and punched out seven homers.

Tuesday's third inning unfolded with back-to-back singles from Javier and Bordick and Henderson being hit by a pitch on the forearm. Then Berroa stepped up to hit the first pitch for his ninth homer. The A's batted around, scoring another run off singles from Sierra and Gates before they were through.

"When you bat around, put up big numbers and add a couple of more, it takes the wind out of the other team's sails," said Lansford. "Especially when that team is down, like the Yankees. The feeling is, "Here we go again.' "

La Russa remembered talking to pitching coach Dave Duncan about the lineup in '88, asking, "What hitters would make pitchers most uncomfortable against the A's?"

They decided the sooner a pitcher sees a team's top hitters the better, and that holds true seven years later.

After Tuesday's game, Duncan pointed to the top of the A's lineup. "The first guy up can get on base with a walk, he can homer, and when he gets on base he can steal. That makes pitchers nervous.

"The second guy gets a lot of walks, hits .300 and can get the ball out of the park. Add the guys in the three, four slot . . . it's unsettling."

Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz agreed. "They're a good-hitting ballclub, top to bottom," he said. "Our pitchers didn't have good location tonight, and that's something those guys saw right away. They're the type of lineup you can't make mistakes against."

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La Russa liked the A's home runs - they're second in the league in homers - but he also liked Sierra's hustle in tagging up on a foul popup and Brosius' scoring in the eighth without a hit.

"That was a game, if you pay attention to it, shows why baseball is so beautiful," said La Russa. "Two big home runs, Ruben's tag-up at second base, Brosius coming around to score . . . a combination of big and little." &lt;

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